Results of a first-of-its-kind survey were released this month on the impact of long COVID — an official, diagnosable illness, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

“It is an official diagnosis. There’s a diagnostic code that providers can use,” MDH Long COVID Program Manager Kate Murray confirmed.

Murray and her team, as part of one of the first state-level long COVID programs in the country, called 20,000 people who had COVID-19. 1,270 completed the interview, according to the recently released results.

More than 40% of responding Minnesotans told MDH they suffered from lingering symptoms for at least three months after a COVID infection. A significant number that should also be taken with a grain of salt, Murray said.

“We also know that folks who are experiencing post-COVID conditions may have been more likely to have these conversations with our surveyors because it’s impacting them directly. So, that does put some bias in these results,” she explained.

Pointing to national survey data in the results report, Murray estimated it’s more likely that roughly 8% of Minnesotans have had long COVID, which would be an estimated 365,000 people.

According to the survey, the most common long-lasting symptoms were tiredness, fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog and coughing. It also said most people with those symptoms also reported difficulty with daily life activities.

“Two-thirds of people having difficulty with daily activities is definitely significant,” Murray said.

“So it is really important now we have some data to back up the stories that we’ve been hearing for years now, and unfortunately, it can be very challenging for folks to get supports if they’re seeking workplace accommodations, disability benefits — they may need those things, but the systems in place can be very complicated.”

Although it’s diagnosable, the survey said just 9% of people were actually diagnosed with long-COVID by providers.

“So we are starting to get more clarity around these potential subtypes, and that can help with diagnosis and managing and treating those symptoms, but unfortunately, there’s still a lot that is unknown, and providers can struggle with that for sure,” Murray said.

“Unfortunately, we still do not have a simple test for long COVID,” she added.